All about Sports!

Football is a huge sport, but in the South it’s a way of life. Most boys have played football at one point in there life, whether it was when they were 6 or 16. High school football is a big deal but college football is so huge, it’s ridiculous.

College football has gotten so ridiculous and out of control that more value is placed on if your team is going to win the big one than on the students’ education.

I recently heard that college football coaches, the ones that coach the big schools, like University of Texas and Oklahoma University, have salaries as high as 3 million dollars. Isn’t ironic that people go to college to get an education so that they can get a good job and have a good life, yet the college professors don’t make nearly as much as the head football coach.

Also tuition for those colleges are extremely expensive. You spend four years in a university like that and you end up spending probably less than some people will spend on their first house. This absolutely outrageous!

College tuition is higher than it has ever been. A lot of people cannot even afford to go to college in the first place, and as cost rises, it becomes increasingly difficult for people to receive a good education.

It is unfair that people who can throw a ball get a free ride to college while people who have worked hard all through high school in order to further their education have to struggle and worry about how they are going to be able to pay for college.

When did sports become more important than education? Unless you happen to be one of the lucky few who actually make it to major league, sports are not going to do anything for you when you are out of college.

Sports are important, but not as important as education. College is important and no one should be denied the opportunity because it is too expensive.

While there are other colleges who do not cost as much and community colleges, you cannot get the same kind of education that you can at top universities. Football has been a higher priority than actually learning the things you are going to need when you start a career.

Why is it so expensive to go to college in universities where football is so big? Because they have to pay the coaches, and because they have to pay for the top athletes to come to their university so they can have a winning team.

College is supposed to be about education. It’s supposed to be a place you get to go to after working hard to get good grades in high school. It’s supposed to be a place where you learn what you need to know in order to get a good job, in order to be more than a fast food server.

Southern colleges who are entirely focused on football are robbing people of their education. This should be stopped and more focus should be placed on education.

With salaries and popularity constantly escalating, there has never been a better time to get into the college football coaching profession. For the young and ambitious, here is a road map on how to make it to the pinnacle of college sports:

A Road map for Entering the Profession of College Football Coaching

1. Play Football at the College Level – This is arguably the biggest barrier into the college football coaching profession. Take a glance at the most recent AP poll and you will find the likes of Bob Stoops, Pete Carroll, Mack Brown, Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer. What do they all have in common? They played football in college. For every Mike Leach (who did not play), there are dozens of ex-athletes roaming the sidelines.

2. Get Your College Degree – This may seem like a no-brainer to many, but the balance of school and athletics is a difficult one. Many athletes fall into the trap of letting their academics slide. If you want to pursue coaching at the college level, a degree will be one of the first credentials you will need in your resume.

3. Build Relationships with College Coaches – Being the first one to practice and the last one to leave will do more than make you a better player. It will endear you to the coaches who will one day have the ability to get you into the profession. Never pass up an opportunity to go the extra mile to build relationships with both your coaches and others that you may encounter.

4. Build Relationships with High School Coaches – There are two very important benefits to this piece of the puzzle. The first is that you might need to begin coaching at the high school level. Building relationships with high school coaches will open that door. The second is that those relationships will pay off in recruiting if and when you reach the college coaching level. Talk to them about various stuff like best shoulder pads etc. You never know what clicks.

5. Find a Graduate Assistant/Volunteer Position – This is where your relationship with college coaches will pay off. If you have been identified as a hard worker who picks things up quickly, you will have a great shot at getting on somewhere as a volunteer or graduate assistant. If that doesn’t work,

6. Find a High School Coaching Position – Many of those who pursue college coaching as a profession start in the high school ranks. Building a strong winning resume in the high school ranks will open doors for you at the college level. The bigger and better program you can get into, the better off you will be.

7. Be Active in the Coaching Community – There are a number of opportunities to get involved in the coaching community. Clinics are a great way to meet other coaches as well as build your resume. Camps are another great way to build relationships. Take advantage of each opportunity that presents itself. You never know which one will pay off.

8. Become a Subject Matter Expert – Find your niche in the business. This could be a new and innovative offensive strategy or a specific position that you coach exceedingly well. Whatever your subject matter ends up being, strive to know everything you can about that particular area.

9. Be Proactive, but Patient – Don’t rush into just any job. Each staff has its own personality. In the long run, you will be much better off finding a staff that shares your philosophy and values.

Guys, we need to have a serious talk about Vincent Brown. Per FF Calculator ADP, he is being drafted as WR43 and over the last week, his overall draft position has crept into the 10th round. This madness has to stop. Coming out of San Diego State, Brown simply didn’t have the physical measurables that would suggest he was ever going to be anything special.

Height

Weight

40

Vertical

Explosion Score

Broad Jump

Bench

Vincent Brown

5’11

181

4.68

33.5

10.89

121

12 Reps

He is a short speed receiver with no speed. Honestly, it’s hard to even see how the Chargers are justified in giving Brown a starting role to start the season, given his relatively poor college production. He certainly fails Jon Moore’s “Eric Decker Test”. Look at the Rotoviz Heat Map of Brown’s college production, and just for comparison’s sake, lets include Chargers rookie Keenan Allen:

Brown had one solid season of production where beat Allen down on yards per target, and 12.88 on 105 targets certainly isn’t awful, but Brown never had even a B Dominator Rating (check Shawn Siegele’s excellent moneyinthebananastand.com for more info on Dominator Rating). Generally, Brown is a pretty meh prospect. He played against weaker competition in college, has already been injured for an entire NFL season and is not playing in an offense that I expect to be wildly productive. Phillip Rivers’ Adjusted Yards Per Attempt when throwing to Brown in 2011 was 8.1 yards on 40 attempts, which is not a positive, considering that Rivers’ numbers were better Malcom Floyd (who is still on the roster) and a breaking down Antonio Gates.

I know that he runs really good routes and he has some solid hands. There are certainly things that scouts are going to love about his game, but I have grave doubts about his ability to produce for fantasy owners. Instead of selecting Brown, take a shot on Sidney Rice, Reuben Randle, Josh Gordon, or Mike Williams; all of those guys are going in a similar range to Brown and have much, much, much higher upsides.

Every year, over 250 former college players get drafted. Even more are signed as priority free agents or given a tryout. The majority of these players will never amount to anything in the NFL; however, it’s very important to be aware of talented small school players just in case there’s a situation where they’ll be thrust into playing time.

In my rush to add players to my newly created rating system, I only had running backs from the combine scored. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be looking at potential fantasy starters who were drafted late into favorable situations. In Benny Cunningham, formerly of Middle-Tennessee State, there’s potential for some fantasy value should he get an opportunity.

Benny Cunningham has immense fantasy football potential

Over the last 2 years at Middle-Tennessee State, Cunningham averaged 5.19 yards per carry, with an average line of 16 carries, 84.7 yards, and 1.2 touchdowns per game. Cunningham blew it up his final year, averaging 19.4 carries, 120 yards, and an outstanding 2.2 touchdowns per game, finishing with 6.2 yards per carry. In 13 total games played, Middle-Tennessee gave Cunningham 19 or more carries 4 times. 3 of those 4 times, he ran for 100+ yards.

2 of those 3 games, he ran for 200+ yards. Extrapolated over an entire season, he would have run for 232 carries, 1440 yards, and 26 touchdowns. Mind bogglingly good numbers, and exactly what you want to see from a running back playing in the Sun Belt Conference. When given an opportunity, Cunningham dominated the competition he faced. There has to be a catch, right?

Last year, Cunningham tore his patellar tendon at the end of an absolute throttling of Florida International, a game where he ran for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns (with 2 called back due to penalty). Due to his injury, the former Blue Raider was unable to finish the season, and couldn’t do any workout drills except the 40 yard dash.

Using the 4.51 40 yard dash from his pro day, and plugging in average agility/explosion numbers, Cunningham is the top rated small back in my spreadsheet, narrowly edging out Giovani Bernard as the #1 running back. Two of his numbers pop out to my computer: his studly elite touchdown production, only bested by Barry Sanders for backs I’ve tracked (going back to 2000). Cunningham is also the 7th strongest back I’ve ever recorded, throwing 225 pounds up 26 times.

The film backed up the numbers Excel spit out at me. Cunningham is incredibly strong for his 5’10”, 209 pound frame, routinely bowling defenders over and driving them back. On tape, I also saw above average quickness and agility. Had Cunningham not suffered the knee injury, I think it’s extremely likely that he’d be drafted.

100% healthy, he’s probably a mid-4.4 guy with good agility numbers. That would push his rating up even higher in my system.

We’ve already established that Cunningham is a talented running back, so how does he compare to the other Rams running backs?

Player

Height

Weight

Speed

Benny Cunningham

70

209

101.03

Terrance Ganaway

72

239

105.83

Isaiah Pead

70

197

106.08

Daryl Richardson

70

192

97.05

Zac Stacy

69

216

102.59

At first glance, none of them really jump out at you. They’re all of similar height with roughly similar Speed Scores. Terrance Ganaway’s hulking 239 frame stands out, as does Daryl Richardson’s paltry size/speed combination. 192 pounds with a 4.46 40 isn’t a “burner,” that’s molasses slow. Assuming that when healthy Cunningham is a 4.4 runner, his Speed Score because a much more respectable 111.52, making him the top back. What if we compare these 5 runners based on their college performance?

Player

Gs

ATTs/G

Yds/G

TDs/G

REC/G

Benny Cunningham

5

19.40

120.00

2.20

1.80

Terrance Ganaway

13

19.23

119.00

1.62

0.46

Isaiah Pead

13

18.23

96.85

0.92

3.00

Daryl Richardson

8

17.38

103.13

1.38

5.00

Zac Stacy

13

15.92

87.77

0.77

0.77

Cunningham had the most yards and touchdowns per game, and had the most receptions per game of the 200+ pound RBs. Zac Stacy’s low ATTs/G number is troubling given his reputation as a workhorse back. Even more puzzling is his low touchdowns per game output. I expected more from than former Vanderbilt runner. Pead and Richardson showed good receiving ability in college, and their size suggests they’ll be limited to a change of pace role in the NFL.

The point I’m trying to hammer home is that there are no sure bets in the Rams backfield, so why not grab the cheapest option and hope he hits? My confidence in Zac Stacy has taken a hit since I looked at the numbers, and Ganaway seems like more of a fullback than a true threat to take the starting role. Isaiah Pead was tired of football last year, and Richardson is a piss poor inside runner. If Jeff Fisher runs a Pete Carroll-style open competition for the starting running back job, who knows what could happen. The reality is that Cunningham was an undrafted player, which leaves the team with no obligation to give him any sort of playing time.

He could be cut next week after a bad practice. NFL teams are terrified of admitting they’re wrong, so Pead’s status as a 2nd round pick gives him more leeway than the others have. He’ll get every chance to prove he can be the starting running back. When that inevitably fails, there isn’t another highly drafted player behind him. None of Zac Stacy (5th round), Daryl Richardson (7thround), Benny Cunningham (undrafted), and Terrance Ganaway (waiver pickup) entered the league with much fanfare. Grab Cunningham with a 5th round pick in a deep dynasty league and hope he turns into what I think he’s capable of.